Screw You, Lance Berkman!

If you’ve been keeping up with what’s going on in the world of baseball and Texas Rangers then you’ve probably heard about Lance Berkman, former New York Yankee, current St. Louis Cardinal, bashing the Texas Rangers.

But, just in case you haven’t, here are a few quotes from his
Thursday morning talk on the John & Lance show on 1560 AM in Houston.

"“I felt like if they didn’t re-sign Cliff Lee that they were going to be an average team and I feel that’s probably what’s going to end up happening,” Berkman said Thursday. “It’s all about your pitching. I feel like last year was one of those special years where you kind of catch lightning in a bottle and they got hot and they had some guys that I felt like were pitching better than their talent level and consequently they had a great year.”"

Thankfully, C.J. Wilson had his own response this morning on ESPN 103.3 FM on the Ben and Skin Show.

"“I think it’s funny,” said Wilson, who converted from reliever to starter in 2010 and won 15 games. “He was contemplating retirement, so I’m not going to take anything too seriously. I’m not going to get offended by anything he says. If that’s a representative idea of what people around the league think, that’s better for us because they’re going to do the same thing and they’re going to not take us seriously. If we end up stomping through the playoffs again, everyone will be like, ‘Wow, what a bummer.'”“We have a lot of pride on our team,” Wilson said. “We’re very proud of what we’ve turned our team into. It’s about the players and what we’ve done on the field. We’ve gotten better. Now the organization is somewhere and we have direction.“If someone is going to slam us, that’s going to be something. … You hold little grudges like that. I hope the fans understand and when Lance comes to play at some point in Texas, I hope our fans boo.”"

Don’t worry, C.J., we will!

Now, my thoughts: you can clearly see from my post title. I’m not at all happy about his comments about the Rangers being an “average” team. Just because they no longer have Cliff Lee does not mean they won’t have yet another impressive year in 2011. One person does not make an entire team and the Rangers will prove that this year to everyone assuming they will suck without Cliff Lee in their pitching rotation. The team has significantly improved as a whole as has the entire Rangers organization.

And how dare you say that the pitchers talent level isn’t what it appeared to be in 2010. Sure, you can have your good years and your bad years of pitching, but I don’t think they just had a remarkable pitching year – they will bring every ounce of that talent back to the mound this season. I have a good feeling that last year was the turning point of the organization and that this year will be just as good – if not better – so everyone better just look out!

Who would have wanted a damn ex-NYY on the team anyway? Not me! Thank God for not wanting to get more money out of the Rangers and heading to St. Louis!

For all of you other players and teams that think the Rangers will be just an “average” team this year, just keep on thinking that. When the Rangers beat your asses and make it to the playoffs and beyond, you’ll realize you were an idiot for ever underestimating the Texas Rangers! You’ll see that this team can function and win games just fine without the “astounding” Cliff Lee.

Here’s to a great year for the Texas Rangers! *Cheers!*

Please share your thoughts on this matter. Did Berkman’s comments ignite a fire inside you like it did me? How do you think the Rangers will do this year? Let us know here, on Facebook or on my personal Twitter @nascarstacy14! I would love to hear from any of you guys!